It was shaping up to be as bad a weekend as the USF men’s basketball team could possibly have drawn up.

One night after getting routed by rival Augustana, the Cougars blew a nine-point second-half lead to Wayne State, a last-place team that hasn’t won a conference game this year. USF trailed by six with less than two minutes to go. What fans remained in the Stewart Center were making noise for the visitors, and the Cougars looked like they were already processing the disappointment of an 0-2 homestand.

Then, Mack Johnson saved the day.

The sophomore sharpshooter hit a 3-pointer to give USF some life, cutting the lead to 73-70 with 1:30 to go. Freshman guard Trae VandeBerg, a Madison grad, answered with a driving bucket, and Johnson answered with another 3 to make it 75-73 with 51 seconds left. USF’s Tom Aase then got a steal after the Wildcats inbounded, and Charles Ward hit a pair of free throws to tie it at 75 with 43 seconds left.

After Wayne’s Jordan Cornelius hit two at the stripe to put the Wildcats back on top with 30 seconds left. Johnson then hit his third straight 3 to put USF on top 78-77 with 15 seconds left, and Aase swatted away a Kendall Jacks layup attempt from the Wildcats at the other end. Ward then hit two more at the line to give USF an 80-77 lead, and Wayne’s 3 to tie at the buzzer was no good.

Johnson finished with 19 points – all in the second half – hitting all five of his 3-point attempts.

“We were in a little bit of a funk after the loss (to Augustana),” Johnson said. “We just tried to keep our heads up and grind through. It’s tough when the shots aren’t falling, so I was just trying to spark my team. You hit a big shot and it gives everyone energy, makes it a little easier to play defense, and gives everyone confidence.”

Cougar coach Chris Johnson said he and his staff harped on the players to stay composed as the game slipped away from them. It’s easy to say now that they did, but none of it would’ve mattered without Mack Johnson’s shooting heroics.

“We walked about staying in the moment, staying composed, but if Mack doesn’t bang down that first 3, we probably lose,” Coach Johnson said. “But he hits it, then we spring him open and he hits another one, we get a steal, Tom gets a huge block and you get yourself a win. The most positive thing for me is that everyone had a hand in it.”

It was a collaborative effort, as Ward finished with 20 points, while Bryan Kielpinski bounced back from a scoreless night (that led to his removal from the starting lineup) to score 14 points on 6-of-6 shooting. Jordan Stotts had 12 points, while Coach Johnson was particularly pleased with point guard Zach Wessels. The true freshman got the start with Freddie Young sidelined by an ankle injury, and dished six assists with just one turnover in 33 minutes.

“Zach was really good, he did everything we ask him to do out there,” the coach said. “BK gave us big minutes, Stotts was good, Tom made some big plays, Chuck had another big game – everyone in the locker room feels like they were a big part of this. We need that right now.”

USF led by five at half, and by nine on multiple occasions in the second half. Wayne tied it at 63 when Jamie Pearson banked in a 3 from the top of the key, and they went up by five with 2:47 left on a layup by VandeBerg.

Patrick Kurth had a career night for the Wildcats (3-11, 0-8 NSIC), scoring 29 points on 11-of-15 shooting, while VandeBerg had 15 points. Cornelius, the former Sisseton standout, had 12 points.

The Cougars got back to .500 with the win (7-7, 4-4), which keeps them solidly in the thick of a crowded middle of the conference pack. With a road trip to Winona and Upper Iowa looming next weekend, this was one the Cougars had to have. An 0-2 weekend with two embarrassing losses would’ve been tough to shake.

“We’re just trying to get our confidence back,” said Mack Johnson. “If we keep our heads up and keep working we’ll be good.”